


So be it

by MissPatate



Series: Broken hope [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Anakin Skywalker Doesn't Turn to the Dark Side, Canon Divergence - Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Depressed Obi-Wan Kenobi, Grey Obi-Wan Kenobi, Murder, The Dark Side of the Force, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:48:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25530865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissPatate/pseuds/MissPatate
Summary: He will not kill Palpatine for revenge. He will kill him because it is his duty.
Relationships: Dooku & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Sheev Palpatine, Sheev Palpatine & Anakin Skywalker
Series: Broken hope [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1851577
Comments: 20
Kudos: 330





	So be it

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, it is my first oneshot! :D  
> I hope my English isn't too bad!

Sand in his eyes, Ben Kenobi can’t see. What can he still see anyway? Luke is dead, along with the Lars family. Everyone is dead, there is nothing left. Nothing but the sand and the extreme sadness of the end of the world. The last hope in the galaxy is gone, at the hands of Darth Vader. He will never know how his former apprentice, now Sith Lord, found them there on Tatooine. It doesn't matter anymore, anyway, not under these circumstances. Ben looks up, and sees a fuzzy dark figure, dressed in black, before feeling the pain, the sadness and the nothingness. He then finds himself engulfed in an immense light. He hears screams, screams of pain, before realizing that he is the one producing this terrible sound. His throat burns and his back aches. 

Suddenly, the cold that was gradually taking hold of his entire being dissipates, moving on to a comforting warmth.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

A voice is calling him, coming from nowhere and everywhere at once, whispering his name in a lament. Obi-Wan. It's been a long time since nobody called him that, so the name seems to come from beyond the grave. Isn’t that the case, now? He is ready, ready to join the Force. And so seems to be its will.

"Your time has not come yet." the voice hisses, clearly. It is neither feminine nor masculine, yet it is both at the same time. It is pure and soft, like a mother's caress. Ben doesn’t move, he doesn't have the strength. He just lets himself be carried away by the softness of the magical place where he is now, by the tenderness of that mysterious voice.

“Take your chance, now. Your last chance.” The voice says and the unconsciousness claims the Jedi.

**SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW**

He wakes up on the durasteel floor of a star destroyer. The metal is really cold and hard, not in the least comfortable. He feels something heavy lying on his legs and his vision is blurred. Is he crying? Are there tears on his cheeks? He raises a hand to his head, trying painfully to move. What’s going on? He blinks several times and the mist dissipates. The ringing in his ears disappears and he can focus on the circumstances. He tilts his head up and tries to understand the room’s layout. It seems that he is in a kind of… hangar? It looks familiar. How? Where is the sand? Where is Tatooine? Where is Luke? 

Maybe Darth Vader captured him, for whatever horrendous reason? But, why would he have a large piece of durasteel crushing his legs? The Sith would have certainly put him in a brig… He certainly didn’t have the strengths to fight… The questions in his mind come one after the other, but there is no answer. 

Suddenly, he hears a voice from his past. Anakin Skywalker’s voice. Not Darth Vader’s husky, damaged and suffocating voice, but the young and melodious voice of his former padawan. A voice he thought he would never hear again. The one of his brother, his best friend, his son. The voice of the man he failed. 

He turns his head to the direction of the sound. There, he sees a memory ? No, not a memory. He remembers this star destroyer, he remembers the chancellor sitting tied to a chair - which looks strangely like a throne -, he even remembers Dooku. But, he doesn’t remember Anakin being about to kill an unarmed man. For a few seconds, he simply watches the scene, as if it is a holoseries. He is absolutely detached, his brain doesn’t register the event going on. Dooku lost both his hands and is now looking at Anakin with fear in his eyes. 

“Kill him.” Palpatine says calmly, a happy smile on his face. 

_ This poisonous snake, this kriffing womp rat, this bantha shit…,  _ Obi-Wan thinks. The Jedi Master can’t see anything but Darth Sidious, manipulating his padawan, claiming him. Thinking that his Anakin has once called this man -no, not man, this garbage- ‘Master’ is painful. Kenobi was such a failure as a Master, that his apprentice preferred to turn to this untruthful reptile. It hurts.It hurts so much. 

He doesn’t know if all of this is real, or if he is dreaming, but he decides to move and to act. Carefully, he raises a hand and uses the Force to free himself from the pile of scrap covering his lower body. 

He feels the anger flooding his guts. It’s like a tsunami in his mind, it’s powerful and intense. It’s revitalizing. He must calm down, he knows it. He closes his eyes, and breathes.  _ In. Out. In. Out. Everything will be alright. There is finally some hope. _ Maybe not for him, but for the rest of the galaxy. He shields himself as well as possible and tries to stand up. He tries to speak, but, at this moment, no sound is able to leave his mouth. His throat is tight and dreadfully dry.

“Kill him now.” the Chancellor adds, in a honeyed tone. He looks very proud of ‘his future apprentice’.

Dooku’s eyes flicker with more fear and stupefaction as he glances at his Master. Oh, what a terrible treason. The Count must have known that his Master wanted to replace him, but Obi-Wan is sure that he didn’t think about this outcome. Maybe not so soon.

“I shouldn't.” Anakin answers. Oh, that’s good. Anakin’s conscience exists at this point. So when? When did this bright boy become this horrible monster? Obi-Wan spent a tremendous amount of time asking this question in the Tatooine Desert… Asking it to himself, to the Force, to Qui-Gon, to anybody who listened. He never expected an answer. 

“Do it.” Sidious drives the Jedi to murder.

At this moment, Obi-Wan rises. The adrenaline floods his veins, and his heart is literally racing. Even if it’s just a vision, he can stop this madness. He can help his brother stay in the Light. He can change things for the better. Even if this happy ending occurs just in his mind.

“No... Anakin!” he cries in a hoarse voice. “No!” he repeats. 

The young man looks at him, a glint of relief in his eyes.

“That’s not the Jedi way…” his Master adds, hoping that these words will be enough. 

“It is the best way to end the war, my boy.” says the Chancellor, looking at Skywalker. “And you know that, Master Kenobi. Dooku is too dangerous to be kept alive. Think about all the lives that will be saved. “ He glances at Obi-Wan, and the Counselor can see anger on his face.  _ This man is really a lecherous little parasite! _

“Kill him.” He repeats for the third time. 

Anakin hesitates and Obi-Wan can’t take the risk of letting History repeat itself. He can’t let his best friend kill a defenseless opponent. He can’t let his son become a monster. According to the Jedi Code, every life is precious, even Dooku’s. Or is it really?

The Jedi Master approaches his friend at a quick pace.

“That is not a solution, my Padawan. This is the path to the Dark Side.” He says loudly, eying the chancellor. He puts a hand on the Knight’s shoulder, paternally, and whispers: “It’s fine, it’s over…You can rest now.”

Maybe he is rusty concerning the saber combat, but, during his exile on Tatooine, he became more attuned to the Living Force. He spent hours training, and perhaps it was the last thing that prevented him from going crazy. Or maybe he is mad, after all. 

He is not surprised when Anakin falls asleep in his arms, driven to it by the Force suggestion. The two lightsabers slip off his hands and deactivate while hitting the floor. Obi-Wan kisses gently the young Jedi on his forehead and puts him slowly on the ground. He caresses the younger man’s hair. He sighs. 

Dooku’s eyes look like they are going to explode and the Chancellor seems very displeased.

“What have you done?” He asks, irritated. 

“I could not let him do it. I understand your motivations and your opinions, Chancellor, but that’s not the Jedi way. Count Dooku must be judged fairly. Anakin felt unbalanced. It was dangerous and I had to react. He will wake in a few minutes, do not worry.”

He wants to say so much more. The war is not the Jedi way. They were peacekeepers, and they became generals, soldiers in a pointless war. They became slavers, leading armies of clones to their Death. From a certain point of view, they are not better than the Hutts on Tatooine. They became slaves of the Senate, of this Chancellor, of this Sith Lord who pulls lustfully the Republic's strings. Obi-Wan hates him. And Jedi do not hate. What does that mean? Maybe he isn’t a Jedi anymore. Maybe he is just Ben now. The desert wizard. The crazy old Ben. 

“I will untie you.” He says simply instead. He comes up to the old man. His heart is racing gradually more and more, sweat is running down his spine. He shields himself even better as he approaches the only real enemy and threat to the Galaxy. 

He can stop all of this now. He can. It’s so simple. Palpatine doesn’t know that he knows everything. Palpatine doesn’t expect him to do anything but free him and help him escape this awful ship. He can surprise him.  _ But this is not the Jedi way.  _ How about the sacred value of Life? He said it himself a few minutes earlier. Killing him would be the height of hypocrisy. Yet, he managed to dissipate the anger, the sorrow, the sadness and the hatred during years. He controlled them. They became partners, as he didn’t want to let them go. They were his punishment for his failures. 

This is the main difference between him and Anakin. The latter is emotionally unstable, at the edge of the Dark Side. Obi-Wan stayed in the Light, even after Jabiim, after Zigoola, after Kadavo. Even after Satine’s death. Even after Anakin’s betrayal. He suffered so much and yet there he was, standing, alive. 

He can’t suffer more, there is nothing left. The Dark Side will not have much more suffering to rely on. Even though he falls, he doesn’t care. Better him than Anakin. 

Thus, he will not kill Palpatine for revenge. He will kill him because it is his duty. He will kill him calmly, with no emotions. 

Standing next to Sidious, he activates his lightsaber. It is just a second. Just a second and the faith of the entire galaxy just changed. Just one hit on a button and the most influential man in the Galaxy is dead. The blade sinks into the old man’s chest, straight to his heart. 

“And you lose…. Darth Sidious.” Obi-Wan whispers, putting his lips near to the chancellor’s ear. 

The Sith Lord dies, uttering his last gasp. The Jedi Master switches off his saber and looks at the corpse slumped on the chair. Is that all? Is this the end? 

Dooku gets up to his feet. 

“My, my... Master Kenobi… You finally listened to me.” He says, giving a smile to his greatpadawan. He is referring to the first time they really met, in Geonosis. Dooku said there was a Sith Lord in the Senate. Obi-Wan was confident that it was a lie. Another failure. His failure. He was informed of everything and he didn’t listen. If only he was less arrogant! 

“I knew you would find out the Truth.” 

“Get off your high bantha, Dooku. This is none of your doing.” Obi-Wan simply answers. His face is neutral, almost cold as he clips his weapon to his belt. 

“Oh, do not be so uncivilized, my dear greatpadawan.” The separatist’s leader says, another soothed smile on his lips. “Thank you for your help. You got me out of a tight spot.” He adds, gesturing what is left of his arms towards Palpatine’s dead body.

“I didn't do it for you.” Obi-Wan tells him, and he can't help but look at the young Jedi lying on the floor.

“Oh, so the great Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, the poster boy of the Order, has attachments. Isn’t that forbidden by your dear Code?” The Count’s sarcasm irritates him, since he realizes that his interlocutor speaks exactly like himself. Are they so different? Five years ago, he would have no doubt, but now…

“You will follow me. I promise I won’t hurt you, and you will have a fair trial.” He doesn’t really know why he wants Dooku to live. Maybe, because he was a former Jedi, or maybe because he was Qui-Gon’s Master. Or maybe it is simply the Force’s will.

“A fair trial? And you? Will your trial be fair too?” Dooku asks, without moving.

“What are you talking about?”

“In case you already forgot, you just killed the chancellor.”

“I will tell the Council that you killed him. You are a Sith, nobody will believe you.”

“And how did I kill him?” The Sith laughs moving his two arms, showing his missing hands. “Even if they don’t believe me, I will plant seeds of doubt. Anakin will understand. And he will hate you. Palpatine manipulated him for years.. Perhaps your padawan already hates you.”

_ I HATE YOU!  _ The words come back from his memories. Obi-wan shivers. He closes his eyes, he doesn’t want Dooku to see that he managed to disturb him. 

“I will find some explanation, do not worry about it.” The Jedi eventually explains.

His interlocutor laughs again.

“Oh, I am so proud of you, my great padawan. You want to deceive your precious Council, you want to accuse someone for the murder you committed. I knew you had great potential.” He falls silent for a few seconds before speaking again. “My proposition still stands. Join me, and we will purify the corrupted senate, we will save the Republic!” 

This time, Obi-Wan seems to hesitate. Is he really thinking it would be a brilliant idea?

“I will not join you, my dear Count. Now, we must get out of this ship before it blows up.”

“So be it.” Dooku exclaims. 

Without warning, the elder raises what is left of his arms and the durasteel balcony, which once crushed Obi-Wan lower body, levitates. General Kenobi stops it just before it falls on Anakin, who is still unconscious. 

“Obi-Wan, you will be a magnificent Sith Lord.” Dooku concludes the discussion, grinning, before vanishing. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :D  
> So, what do you think?  
> It was supposed to be an OS, but do you want me to turn this into a series and to write a sequel ?  
> Please answer in the comments!


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